Poor Drafting and Character

      For a good example of how important it is to be sharp at the draft table, look no further than the Columbus Blue Jackets the last decade.

       The Jackets had top-eight picks for nine straight years from 2000-08 and only two of them are still with the team – for the time being – Rick Nash and Derick Brassard.

       You can’t be right 100 percent of the time, but if the Jackets had done a better job even two thirds of the time they’d likely be a playoff contender.

       Here’s a look at what the Jackets did on draft day and who they could have had instead:

       2000: Picked defenseman Rusty Klesla fourth, could have had Scott Hartnell (6^th) – Not a major fail here. Klesla is a solid NHL defenseman, but the Jackets traded him to Phoenix for Scottie Upshall.

       2001: Picked Pascal Leclaire eighth, could have had Ales Hemsky (13^th) – Leclaire had one good year, but was later traded and sat out last season with an injury.

       2002: Picked Rick Nash first overall – Has 289 career goals.

       2003: Picked Nikolai Zherdev fourth, could have had Thomas Vanek, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf or Ryan Kesler – Zherdev had 76 goals over four seasons, which seems ok on the surface, but he was a one-dimensional player.

       2004: Picked Alexandre Picard eighth, could have had Drew Stafford (13^th) and Travis Zajac (20^th) among others – Picard has not scored a goal in 67 NHL games, but has been a solid leader for the Lightning’s AHL affiliate Norfolk Admirals.

       2005: Picked Gilbert Brule sixth, could have had Anze Kopitar (11^th) or Marc Staal (12^th) – Brule was traded to Edmonton for Raffi Torres then went to Phoenix on waivers. Brule scored 12 goals in 146 games with Columbus.

       2006: Picked Derick Brassard sixth, could have had Bryan Little (12^th) or Claude Giroux (22^nd) among others – The jury is still out on Brassard and lots of teams missed on Giroux.

       2007: Picked Jakub Voracek seventh, could have had Logan Couture (9^th) or Ryan McDonagh (12^th) among others – Voracek is starting to become a good NHL player, but he’s doing it in Philadelphia as part of the failed Jeff Carter deal.

       2008: Picked Nikita Filatov sixth, could have had Mikkel Boedker (8^th), Tyler Myers (12^th), Erik Karlsson (15^th) – Ooops. It wasn’t hard to predict this one though. This is where the Jackets needed to trade down and get more picks.

       2009: Picked John Moore 21^st after making the playoffs – Too early to tell on Moore, who was -23 in 67 games with two goals last season.

       2010: Picked Ryan Johansen fourth – Again, too early to tell. Could have had Cam Fowler or Jeff Skinner, but Johansen has potential to be a No. 1 center if the Jackets are patient with him

       2011: Traded eighth pick to Philadelphia in the Carter deal, could have had Sean Couturier – The mistake was not judging Carter well enough. Jackets could have stood with Voracek and picked Couturier or defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Did get Jack Johnson for Carter, so it isn’t all lost.

       In addition, the Jackets haven’t uncovered any gems in the later rounds as well. The closest they came is getting defenseman Marc Methot at No. 168 in 2003. Perhaps forward Cam Atkinson, picked 157^th in 2008, can emerge.

      Again, these are 17 and 18-year olds, so you are never going to be 100 percent right. There are plenty of periods where teams -- even the elite teams -- have struggled at the draft table for a few years. It could be said that the Lightning did not continue their run after winning the Cup in 2004 and eventually dropped to the bottom because of poor drafts from 2000-2006. Of course, then they wouldn’t have Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman.

      Sometimes the pain is worth it, but when you have a chance you have to seize it. Just think how much better Columbus would be with Kopitar, Vanek and either Myers or Karlsson in the lineup rather than picking Filatov, Zherdev and Brule.

      Top defenseman of a generation: Nicklas Lidstrom hung up his skates last week after two decades of playing the game with class, intelligence and skill. He was the best in the league over his career without having to hammer people through the boards.

      Lidstrom had 23 hits in the regular season and 11 in the playoffs in 2008 when the Red Wings last won the Cup, playing loads of minutes. His career high was 56 in 2010. Some Lightning fans should take note of those statistics.

      St. Louis Blues forward David Perron, who missed a majority of this season with a concussion, said it best on twitter.

      “If everyone would play the right way like Nicklas Lidstrom did, there wouldn’t be many concussions in the NHL.”

      

       More movie fun: One of the best things about movies is how you can be drawn in with characters, whether it is someone compelling that you care about or a person who just makes you laugh by looking at them. I surely will miss a lot of great performances, but here are some of the best I can remember – in no particular order.

       Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in Almost Famous – Told she was sold to Humble Pie for a case of beer, Penny asks “What kind of beer?”

       Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin in Best in Show – Just hilarious with his comments on TV about the great dog show.

       John Cusack as Lane Meier in Better Off Dead – What helped him win the ski race? “Language Lessons.”

       Bill Murray as Carl Spackler in Caddyshack – Cinderella Story.

       Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart – Well-deserved Oscar.

       Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Night – see above.

       Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Father Brendan Flynn in Doubt – Really believable as a priest.

       Kirsten Dunst as Claire Colburn in Elizabethtown – Anyone would like to a meet a person with the optimism and humor of Claire.

       Natalie Portman as Sam in Garden State – Just about as delightful, but more troubled, than Claire.

       Robin Williams as Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting – Knocks it out of the park as a therapist with a seemingly impossible job.

       Lisa Bonet as Marie De Salle in High Fidelity – Artist with real style. “And, so it is.”

       Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglorious Bastards – Pitt has incredible dialogue to work with, but perhaps no one could say it better than Aldo about the Nattzis.

       Catherine Keener as Jan Buress and Hal Holbrook as Ron Franz in Into the Wild – Deep characters you really care about.

       Ellen Page as Juno in Juno – Smart and funny.

       Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill 1 – Powerful woman who meets her match. “Silly little rabbit.”

       Bridget Moynihan as Ava Fontaine in Lord of War – Classy, strong, and beautiful.

       Bill Murray as Bob Harris in Lost in Translation – The low key, funny but serious, way Murray plays the character is amazing. Should have won an Oscar.

       John C. Reilly as Officer Jim Kurring in Magnolia – Lonely cop deeply cares about helping people.

       Charlie Sheen as the Wild Thing in Major League – Where did you play last? “The California Penal League”

       Hillary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby – Can’t help but care for her.

       Sam Rockwell as the Sam Bells in Moon – Amazing performance as basically a one-man show.

       Michael Keaton as Artie Lewis in One Good Cop – Uncle Artie steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

       Charlton Heston as Taylor in Planet of the Apes – It’s a madhouse!!

       Harvey Keitel as Wolf in Pulp Fiction – Liked lots of cream and lots of sugar in his coffee.

       Keanu Reaves as Shane Falco in The Replacements – A real leader.

       Kate Beckinsale as Sara Thomas in Serendipity – Let’s just say, I like her.

       Christopher Mintz-Plasse as McLovin in Superbad – Classic.

       Vince Vaughn as Trent in Swingers – Makes Wayne Gretzky bleed in video hockey.

       Rooney Mara as Lizbeth Salamander in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – You are repulsed, then drawn toward her.

       Rosario Dawson as Connie in Unstoppable – Might be the best of the many great characters she’s played.

       Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener in Up in the Air – She types with purpose and has a big heart.

       Penelope Cruz as Sophia in Vanilla Sky – Says “I’ll see you in another life, when we’re both cats.” -- as only Penelope can.

       Kate Mara as Annie Cantrell in We Are Marshall – How can you not feel for her?

       Adam Sandler as Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer – Gets paid in meatballs.

       Sandra Bullock as Lucy in While you were sleeping – Under-rated gal.

       Mickey Rourke as Randy the Ram in The Wrestler – Perfect depiction of the old grappler.

       Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You – You are attracted by her smarts and righteousness.

       Chloe Moretz as Rachel in 500 Days of Summer – The younger sister is intelligent beyond her years.

       Anna Kendrick as Katherine and Joe Gordon-Levitt as Adam in 50/50 – Two vulnerable people form a unique relationship.

       Shailene Woodley as Alexandra King in The Descendants – Reminds me of someone.

       Jim Sturgess as Jude in Across the Universe – An Irishman trying to find his father meets Evan Rachel Wood’s beautiful Lucy Carrigan.

      Kevin Costner as Lt. Dunbar in Dances with Wolves and Crash Davis in Bull Durham – Great performances of compelling characters.

      John Belushi as Bluto in Animal House – Let’s Do it!!!

      There could be so many more. I stayed away from actors playing real people, like Mel Gibson’s William Wallace and Denzel Washington’s Malcolm X or Kurt Russell’s Herb Brooks. They were all fantastic.

      Two more to go: best scenes and best lines/quotes. Those two might be the most fun of all.

       Mark Pukalo